Polish Yourself

There was a king
who was a great admirer of art. One day an artist came and said to the king,
“Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on
it.”

The artist was
given the job. Just then, another young man said, “Oh King! Please allow me to
work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist.”
The king said, “What would you like to make?” The man said, “My Lord, I
shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I
shall do so, without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a
thick curtain put up between the two walls so that either of us cannot see the
other.”

Everyone in the
king’s court, including the king was intrigued. He decided to give the young
fellow a chance. The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both
the artists got to work. The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint,
oil, water etc. The second one worked with some cloth and a bucket of water.
After a month the first artist told the king that his work was complete. The
king sent for the second artist and asked him, “Young man, when would your work
be ready? I am coming to see the first wall this evening.” The man said, “My
Lord, my wall is ready too!”

The king went to
see the first artist’s wall. He was very, very impressed with the painting and
gave a hefty sum as a reward to the artist. He then asked for the curtain to be
opened up. Lo and behold! The same painting was to be seen on the opposite wall
too! Amazing! But true! Each line, each minor detail was exactly as it was on
the first wall. But this man had not been seeing what was going on, on the
other side of the curtain. So how had he done it?

The king wanted to
know the secret. He gave a double reward to the fellow. Then he said, “Young
man, I am indeed very happy with your work. But you must tell me; how did you
do it?”

The lad said
simply, “It’s very easy! I just polished the wall every day till it shone like
a mirror!” It was a wall made of white marble! The reflection of the painting
across the room, showed up in it!

That is what it
means to polish yourself. World is a reflection of you. Whatever you are, the world
will seem to be that too. If you are happy, the world will look to be happy. If
you are sad; jealous; angry; restless... That is what the world will seem to be
to you!